Enhancing Lives

How a Milliken & Company Charitable Foundation grant recipient is using enabling technology

Author : Mary Kate Griffin

Since 1971, the Center Lea Center has helped persons with disabilities to thrive in the communities where they live, work and play. The Milliken & Company Charitable Foundation is proud to support this work by awarding the Charles Lea Center Foundation a community grant to support the Center’s installation of new power generators and the construction of a nature preserve for the residents it serves.

“I love the Charles Lea mission. It’s so simple: To help people reach their full potential,” Paul Pruitt, Milliken associate of 35 years and Board President for the Center, said.

The installation of power generators at two of the Center’s supportive living homes, located miles from the Center, makes it possible for residents to shelter-in-place in the comfort of their homes in cases of inclement weather or power outage.

The idea to develop a Charles Lea Center Nature Preserve at Lake Blalock came about after the Center was gifted an eight-acre parcel of land at the lake, an ideal location for a nature preserve complete with adaptive features:

fully accessible trails
an event center
picnic tables

shelters
a boat dock with adaptive features

The project will allow Charles Lea Center residents to enjoy nature in ways that others may take for granted, according to Pruitt.

“If you have ever tried to get into a docked boat to go out on the lake, you know how challenging it can be to balance yourself on two legs without falling into the water,” Pruitt said.

“Imagine trying to do that in a wheelchair.”

After years of fundraising donations and collecting proceeds from events like its annual Lip Sync Battle, the Charles Lea Center Foundation team plans for the land development to break ground this fall.

“Access to outdoor experiences is invaluable for those we serve,” Marisa Cecil, President of the Charles Lea Center Foundation, said. “It makes a huge difference when you ask your community to support a tangible project, one that they are excited to see develop over time.”

A long-standing partnership

Milliken’s partnership with the Center has always focused on enabling people to live their best lives. Previously, Milliken funded the Center’s hydroponics greenhouse, one of the three businesses which were formed to provide opportunity for Center clients who want to work but were having challenges getting or keeping a job. All three businesses – the Clean Crew (janitorial services), GreenLea (groundskeeping), and SimpLea (hydroponics greenhouse) – have contracts with Spartanburg area businesses, including Milliken.

The hydroponics greenhouse was born out of the collaboration between Milliken engineers and the Charles Lea Center staff, but the Center's use of enabling technology goes beyond the greenhouse project. The Center is equipped to help individuals practice pedestrian safety with its crosswalk simulator, to order fast food in a replica of a popular local restaurant, and to safely operate showers with color-coded shower heads.

“Every bit of technology that the Charles Lea Center has is people-focused,” Pruitt said. “It’s not about how great the technology is, it’s about the great things that people are able to do with the technology they are given.”

“Milliken continues to positively impact our individuals and to help us reach new heights. Without this funding, a lot of the things we do would not be happening,” Cecil said. “It is a beautiful collaboration.”